Enchiladas with Cheese Sauce

I think I just may have found the best way to make enchiladas: enchiladas with cheese sauce! Did you see my post about making this incredible 5 ingredient cheese sauce?  I use it on all sorts of items from bread to broccoli.  But, one of my favorite ways to use it is on enchiladas!  Our household loves enchiladas so I’m always loving coming up with new ways to create them.

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Whenever I go to a Mexican restaurant (which I LOVE to do!), I am always drawn to the menu item that lists “smothered in cheese sauce.”  It’s something I never thought to do at home, and it’s indulgent! I’ve always wondered how they do it, and finally figured out how to make enchiladas with cheese sauce at home!

I should note – I have a friend that never orders the “smothered in cheese sauce” item because she’s always afraid it will be soggy.  If you cook this properly, you’ll just have amazing, delicious enchiladas and nothing soggy to worry about – the cheese sauce actually helps crisp up the top of the enchiladas!

Ingredients needed for enchiladas:

• Olive oil
• Yellow onion
• Bell pepper
• Ground turkey
• Cumin
• Chili powder
• Garlic salt
• Corn kernels
• Enchilada sauce
• Tortillas
• Cheese sauce (see how to make 5 ingredient cheese sauce here)
• Tomato
• Cilantro

This recipe is simple to put together and using your homemade cheese sauce brings enchiladas to the next level.  I you want your enchiladas extra cheesy, you can always add in some shredded cheddar or shredded Mexican cheese on top.  Why not?!

How to make enchiladas with cheese sauce?

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray baking dish with cooking spray and set aside
2. Cook onion and pepper in olive oil for 2 minutes.
3. Add in ground turkey, cumin, chili powder and garlic salt.  Cook over high heat, breaking up turkey until cooked through and no more pink remains.
4. When everything is done cooking, add in corn and enchilada sauce. Stir.
5. Roll about 2 big spoon fulls of mixture into each tortilla.  Put tightly rolled tortillas into baking dish until the dish is full of rolled tortillas.
6. Pour cheese sauce over the top of enchiladas.
7. Cook at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, until edges are slightly brown and cheese sauce is bubbly.
8. Remove from oven.  Top with diced tomatoes and cilantro.

I made these enchiladas with ground turkey, but these could easily be made with ground beef or ground chicken instead.

If you love enchiladas as much as I do, you’ll want to check out some of the other great enchilada recipes I have on the blog:

• Homemade enchilada sauce
• Shrimp and black bean enchiladas
• Chicken enchilada flatbread
• Cheesy chicken and rice enchilada casserole

At our house, we almost always cook with ground turkey, as opposed to ground beef.  So I like to think that these are slightly healthier, if you ignore the whole smothered in cheese thing.  You could, of course, switch it up and use ground beef or chicken.  And one of my favorite tricks that I’ve shared in other posts, is to use a rotisserie chicken that you can buy already made at the grocery store.  Rotisserie chicken has become my best friend since my days have become exponentially more busy!

Other recipes you might enjoy:

• Freezer Meal; Chicken Enchilada Casserole
• 5 Ingredient Shrimp and Black Bean Enchiladas
• Cheesy Chicken and Rice Enchilada Casserole

Enchiladas with Cheese Sauce

A classic enchilada recipe topped with homemade cheese sauce. Enchiladas with cheese sauce, made with ground turkey

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Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Equipment

• Large non-stick skillet

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons olive oil or canola oil
• 1/2 yellow onion chopped
• 1 bell pepper any color, chopped
• 1 package ground turkey about 1.25 pounds
• 1 Tablespoon cumin
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 cup corn kernels I use frozen corn
• 1 can enchilada sauce 14.5 oz. - to heat level of choice
• 1 package tortillas Approximately 10 large (10") tortillas
• 1 1/2 cups cheese sauce
• 1 tomato chopped (for topping)
• 1/2 cup cilantro chopped, for topping

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400. Lightly spray a baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
• Cook onion and pepper in 1-2 teaspoons olive oil for 2 minutes
• Add in ground turkey, cumin, chili powder and garlic salt and cook over high heat, breaking up turkey until cooked through and no more pink remains
• When everything is done cooking, add in corn and enchilada sauce. Stir.
  
• Roll about 2 big spoon fulls of mixture into each tortilla. Put tightly rolled tortillas into baking dish until the dish is full of rolled tortillas.
  
• Pour cheese sauce over the top of enchiladas.
  
• Cook at 400 for 15 minutes, until edges are slightly brown and cheese sauce is bubbly.
  
• Remove from oven. Top with diced tomatoes and cilantro.
  

Notes

The nutrition information presented on this site should be considered an estimate as the calculations will change based on the exact products you use in your own kitchen.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 724kcal | Carbohydrates: 92g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 51mg | Sodium: 1972mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 7g